Biggest tech fails of 2017

Fake news fails

So much for Mark Zuckerberg's "pretty-crazy-idea" claim that fake news on Facebook influenced the 2016 presidential election. In October, Facebook, Google, and Twitter execs were called to Capitol Hill to answer for their collective failure to combat Russian-backed propaganda.

Pepsi's cringe-worthy Kendall Jenner ad

In April, Pepsi dropped a YouTube spot showing the model/reality star defusing a Black Lives Matter-esque protest by giving soda to a police officer. Wired said the spot "united the internet" in that everyone hated it. The next day, a shamed Pepsi pulled the ad.

Knightscope said reports of the robot's death were "greatly exaggerated," and that no foul play was suspected.

Published: December 13, 2017 -- 13:52 GMT (05:52 PST)

Photo by: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET

Caption by: Joal Ryan

James Damore's memo

In August, a diversity-attuned Google fired the engineer who authored an internal memo that stated "biological causes ... may explain why we don't see equal representation of women in tech and leadership."

iPhone 8's meh debut

This much-ballyhooed smartphone's year was "meh" and "meh"-er. Upon its release in September, CNET called the iPhone 8 a "status quo upgrade." Carriers went on to report weak interest in the device, especially when compared to the "winning" iPhone X , which arrived in November.

Published: December 13, 2017 -- 13:52 GMT (05:52 PST)

Photo by: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Caption by: Joal Ryan

Uber's very bad year

The ridesharing company faced a potential class-action lawsuit alleging the rape of women passengers. An internal investigation probed sexual harassment in the workplace, and sparked the resignation of CEO Travis Kalanick.

The threat to net neutrality

"We're talking about the future of the internet here," CBSi distinguished lecturer David Gerwitz wrote for ZDNet in December.

Gerwitz said the Federal Communication Commission's "deeply disturbing" proposal to delete Part 8 of the Code of Federal Regulations would "completely [remove] the no-blocking, no-throttling, and no-paid-prioritization protections."

Published: December 13, 2017 -- 13:52 GMT (05:52 PST)

Photo by: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Caption by: Joal Ryan

'Star Wars Battlefront II' muffs microtransactions

When gamers discovered that the then-forthcoming Star Wars Battlefront II featured major characters that required up to 40 hours of play -- or a fee -- to unlock, all Reddit hell broke loose. Electronic Arts apologized, turned off the microtransactions and promised to make things right before the game was formally released on Nov. 17.

Snapchat's slide

When Snapchat went public in March, expectations were as big as the numbers: a $17-a-share stock price for a company valued at $20 billion to $25 billion.

But the social-media network soon "sputter[ed]" as growth stalled, its Spectacles didn't sell, and its stock price took a hit. On the upside, analysts in December began to see Snap Inc. as a worthwhilebargain.

Published: December 13, 2017 -- 13:52 GMT (05:52 PST)

Photo by: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Caption by: Joal Ryan

Forced Windows 10 upgrades

If you made a face like The Mindy Project's Ike Barinholtz when an unprompted Windows 10 upgrade overwhelmed your hard drive and/or damaged your data, then you weren't alone. 2017 saw a class-action lawsuit filed against Microsoft on related claims.

Published: December 13, 2017 -- 13:52 GMT (05:52 PST)

Photo by: Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Windows 10

Caption by: Joal Ryan

Blue Apron's IPO blues

Though Blue Apron isn't a tech company, its stock got "shellacked," as we put it in August, "on the idea that Amazon will copy the [meal-kit delivery] model and do it better." Originally offered at $10 a share, Blue Apron's stock fell to about $3 at one point in December, though Barclays, one of the bulls on Snap Inc., proffered that a "stabilization point" might have been reached.

Kaspersky aspersions

In September, as part of the ongoing Washington probe into Russian meddling, the Moscow-based cybersecurity company's software was ordered removed from federal computers. Eugene Kaspersky, the namesake co-founder of Kaspersky Lab, has denied any connection to the Kremlin.

From the tech giants that let fake news run amok, to the ridesharing company that had an Uber-bad run, these were the year's most notable disappointments.

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'Star Wars Battlefront II' muffs microtransactions

When gamers discovered that the then-forthcoming Star Wars Battlefront II featured major characters that required up to 40 hours of play -- or a fee -- to unlock, all Reddit hell broke loose. Electronic Arts apologized, turned off the microtransactions and promised to make things right before the game was formally released on Nov. 17.